Don't know where to locate my garage (house, plan, build)
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I live in a wooded area, a large area has been cleared around my house as a fire barrier but also to have some lawn and landscaping. Our cars have repeatedly been damaged by rodents costing thousands of dollars. We have more control with our existing attached garage with traps, etc. Outside, it's a free for all so we're building a garage, yes mice will be there but ground hogs, squirrels and chipmunks will have a tougher time getting to our vehicles. The dilemma is where to build the garage. Are there any concepts one should ponder when adding a structure to a property? Any starter points would appreciated. We have a ranch with attached 2 car [1 door] garage facing down a ridge to the main road.
a plot plan or google earth image would help. without seeing the property i would personally put it somewhere where its not an eye sore but close enough to the house so its not a long walk in the rain from the garage to the house. also would help to be near the existing driveway so you dont end up having to put in more driveway. also needs to be within any setbacks you may have withing your local building code.
A plot plan would be useful. Though just imagining how much land you might have, I might go with a circular drive with the garage opposite your current attached garage to balance it out. That's assuming you have a typical L shaped ranch though.
The site plan is key -- ideally you can locate the new structure in such a way that it will not detract from the experience of driving up to your home. If you size this appropriately it could be a real selling feature down the road -- lots off people with RVs, motorcycles, collector cars, tractors and similar "garage toys" would be thrilled to get a home with a well built secondary garage BUT few of them want that to be the "main event" when visitors pull up...
Material choice would be a big key to successfully keeping vermin / wildlife out of the garage. Concrete block for the first few feet will prove far more durable / cost effective than any other building product. If you want to try to save money the sidewalls can be steel panels over structural steel.
As long you never store anything in the garage that will attractive to rodents (and this means basically anything organic including paper / cardboard / rags / seed / sand) it is unlikely that any mice will take up residence in the structure. If you don't have a "barn cat" that might be worth thinking about...
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